1. Nf3 {Kasparov almost always opens with 1.e4 these days, at least against
humans. But over the course of his 25 year professional career he has played
just about everything.} d5 2. c4 c6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 {Logical and normal
development into what is called the Slav Defense. This is a well-known
system
that is particularly well-known to Garry Kasparov! The X3D Fritz team shows
no
fear and heads right into Kasparov's strength. They wanted to show they
didn't
fear his preparation. This choice is also relevant because in Kasparov's
last computer match, against Deep Junior in January '03, he crushed the
machine in this exact opening in the first game!} 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6
(6...
b6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bd3 Be7 9. Bd2 O-O 10. g4 Nxg4 11. Rg1 Ndf6 {
0-1 Kasparov,G-DEEP JUNIOR/New York USA 2003/(36)}) 7. g4 {A very aggressive
move that offers a pawn in exchange for attacking chances. If Black captures
the pawn with ..Nxg5 White gets a lot of pressure on the open g-file.
Kasparov
has played this position three times, twice with white and once with black!
He
won all three games, including one against the computer program Deep Junior
earlier this year.} Bb4 {A normal move still in the "book" of both players.
X3D Fritz has almost three million positions in its library of opening moves
and sequences. Kasparov is legendary for his opening preparation and
knowledge.
He is a walking encyclopedia of opening theory and his opponents have a
healthy fear of his surprises in the openings. This move also takes the
game away from the game Kasparov won against Deep Junior in this line.
That's
a sort of psychological advantage, being the first to spring something
unexpected. Between two humans it could also be sort of like a game of
chicken,
with the first player to turn off from the previous game being the chicken.
No
matter how well it plays chess, this aspect is lost on X3D Fritz. It is not,
however, lost on its creators and operators!} (7... dxc4 8. Bxc4 (8. g5 Nd5
9.
Bxc4 Nxc3 10. bxc3 e5 $132) (8. e4 e5 $1 9. g5 {
Ftacnik,L. 0-1 Adams,M-Kasparov,G/Dortmund 1992/CBM 29/22)} (9. dxe5 Nxe5
10.
Nxe5 Bxe5 11. g5 Nh5 $15)) (8. g5 Nd5 9. Bxc4 Nxc3 10. bxc3 e5 $132) (8.
Bxc4 {
Anand}) 8... b6 9. e4 e5 10. g5 Nh5 11. Be3 O-O 12. O-O-O Qc7 13. d5 b5 14.
dxc6 bxc4 15. Nb5 Qxc6 16. Nxd6 Bb7 17. Qc3 Rae8 18. Nxe8 Rxe8 19. Rhe1 Qb5
20.
Nd2 Rc8 21. Kb1 Nf8 22. Ka1 Ng6 23. Rc1 Ba6 24. b3 cxb3 25. Qxb3 Ra8 26.
Qxb5
Bxb5 27. Rc7 {1-0 Kasparov,G-DEEP JUNIOR/New York USA 2003/ (27)}) (7... O-O
8.
g5 Nh5 9. Bd2 f5 10. gxf6 Nhxf6 11. Ng5 Qe8 12. O-O-O h6 13. h4 $40 {
Shirov,A-Thorhallson,T/Reykjavik/1992/}) 8. Bd2 Qe7 9. Rg1 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 Ne4
11. O-O-O {A new move instead of the usual 11.Bd3.} (11. Bd3 Nxc3 12. Qxc3
O-O
13. O-O-O dxc4 14. Bxc4 c5 (14... b5 15. Bd3 Bb7 16. Ne5 Nxe5 17. dxe5 Rfd8
18.
Kb1 a6 19. Qc2 {
1-0 Malakhov,V-Potkin,V/Togliatti RUS 2003/The Week in Chess (39)}) 15. g5
cxd4
16. Qxd4 a6 17. Kb1 b5 18. Be2 {
0-1 Milanovic,D-Djerfi,K/Belgrade 2003/CBM 96 ext (33)}) 11... Qf6 $5 {
Now that we are out of X3D Fritz's opening library of recorded moves it is
thinking, calculating, for itself. And right away we see a
very"computer-like"
move from the computer. It immediately plays to win a pawn by attacking the
unprotected knight on f3.} 12. Be2 {
Kasparov protects his knight and offers the f2 pawn for capture.} Nxf2 {
And X3D Fritz takes the pawn! This will give White a lot of pressure against
the black position in compensation for the sacrificed pawn. It's ironic that
we have the strongest chess computer of all time here and it is playing in
the
materialistic mode of the first chess programs. In X3D Fritz's opinion, it
has
enough defensive resources to rebuff Kasparov's initiative. This battle
of
material vs initiative is what chess is all about. Kasparov gives up a pawn
for an attack, but if his attack doesn't succeed then X3D Fritz will have
good
chances to win with the extra material. Kasparov loves to have the
initiative
and such sacrifices are his stock and trade.} 13. Rdf1 {
Attacking the black knight.} Ne4 {Retreating the knight. One of the
drawbacks
of X3D Fritz's pawn grab is that now the f-file is open for White's pieces.
Right now Kasparov is threatening a discovered attack on the black queen.
That
means when he moves his knight, there will be a line of attack opened for
his
rook.} 14. Bb4 {Kasparov moves his bishop away so the knight can't capture
it.
He uses it to prevent the black king from castling by attacking the f8
square.}
(14. Ne5 {This is the discovered attack. Note that now Black's queen is
under
fire from the rook on f1. When the queen moves Kasparov would be able to
capture the pawn on f7. But X3D Fritz saw well in advance that its queen
would
be able to counterattack effectively. It's hard to fool a computer looking
at
four million moves per second.} Qh4 15. Nxf7 O-O $1 {
Creating a double attack on the f7 knight.} 16. Ne5 Rxf1+ 17. Rxf1 Nxe5 18.
dxe5 Qxh2 {Black maintains its extra pawn and has a clear advantage.}) 14...
c5
{This move apparently came as a surprise to Kasparov, who now went into a
deep
think after playing all of his previous moves at tremendous speed. X3D Fritz
gives back the pawn in order to block the white bishop's diagonal and open
lines toward the White king.} 15. cxd5 exd5 16. dxc5 Qe7 {Getting the queen
away from the discovered attack on the f-file and also attacking the c5
pawn.
Material is now equal, Kasparov has an edge in development and X3D Fritz has
a
very well-placed knight on e4.} 17. Nd4 {A typically dynamic Kasparov move.
He
will play his knight to the aggressive f5 square. He ignores the threat to
the
c5 pawn since capturing it would cost Black a great deal of time.} O-O {
Getting the king to safety, but allowing Kasparov to play a powerful
sequence
of moves here that will win a rook for a bishop and pawns. A rather
surprising
decision from a program that has already shown itself to be a bit of a
materialist!} (17... Ndxc5 $2 18. Bb5+ Kf8 {
Now the black king is stuck in the middle of the board.}) 18. Nf5 {
Attacking the queen.} Qe5 19. c6 {Kasparov goes for it. This pawn push is a
discovered attack. The pawn attacks the knight and at the same time the
diagonal for the b4 bishop is opened up to attack the rook on f8. He is
going
to win a rook for his bishop, a gain in material, but he usually likes to be
the one giving up the material for the attack. Now X3D Fritz will have the
initiative and more active pieces.} bxc6 20. Bxf8 {The logical continuation,
although he could also have checked the black king and infiltrated with his
knight with 20.Ne7+.} Kxf8 {Our Grandmaster commentators were expecting X3D
Fritz to recapture with the knight instead of moving his king into the
middle
of the board. The machine prefers to keep its pieces more active and isn't
worried about its king at all. A human would instictively worry about
putting
his king out into traffic. A computer just looks at a few hundred million
positions, sees no danger, and plays what it thinks is best.} (20... Nxf8
21.
Bd3 (21. Qxc6 $2 Rb8 {With great attacking chances for Black.})) 21. Ng3 {
Kasparov wants to trade material. He has a material advantage and every
exchange will bring him closer to realizing it.} Ndc5 22. Nxe4 Nxe4 23. Bd3
{
Threatening yet more trades.} Be6 {Finally developing this bishop and
preparing to lodge it on the d5 square after Kasparov captures on e4. The
bishop also protects the f7 square on the vulnerable f-file. Computers
always
defend tenaciously.} 24. Bxe4 dxe4 {Kasparov's mission to exchange pieces
has
been successful, but how to now convert his slight material advantage into a
win?} 25. Rf4 Bd5 {Protecting the attacked e4 pawn. Black has set up a solid
defensive wall and it's up to Kasparov to find a way through.} 26. Qc5+ {
Activating the queen with check, forcing the black king back. This move also
pins the bishop against the queen.} (26. Qc3 {Many expected this move,
offering to exchange the queens and driving the black queen from her
excellent
central post. X3D Fritz definitely wouldn't exchange queens because then
Kasparov's material advantage would be close to crushing. X3D Fritz needs
the
powerful queen on the board to keep counterchances.} Qd6) 26... Kg8 27. Rgf1
{
Threatening the brutally blunt capture Rxf7, taking advantage of the pin on
the bishop. This move was criticized by several of the assembled
Grandmasters
as "too subtle." Black's reaction develops a piece and White's threat is
easily parried. The more direct 27.Rd1 was more to the point.} Rb8
{Answering K
asparov's threat with an even stronger one. X3D Fritz threatens a lethal
capture on b2.} 28. R1f2 {
Protecting b2 and so reviving the threat to capture on f7.} Qc7 {Removing
the
pin on the bishop and so threatening to capture the unprotected a2 pawn.}
29.
Rc2 {Kasparov prefers to answer a threat with a counterthreat instead of
playing defense. Now if Black plays ..Rb5 Kasparov exploits the new pin on
the
c-pawn and captures the rook with Qxb5.} (29. Kb1 {
Protecting the a2 pawn with the king.}) 29... Qd7 (29... Bxa2 {Grabbing the
pawn immediately was playable, but now White's rooks get a lot of play.}) (
29... Rb5 $4 30. Qxb5 $1) 30. h4 {Another aggressive surprise from Kasparov.
Just when all the action was on the queenside and in the center, he
threatens
to open a new front by pushing his kingside pawns against the black king.}
Qd8
31. g5 $6 {This move made X3D Fritz very happy, at least according to its
evaluation function. It now considers it safe to capture the hanging pawn on
a2. Kasparov wants to play h5 without allowing Black to block his pawns
with ..h6. But this plan is just to slow and now X3D Fritz grabs a pawn on
a2.}
(31. h5 {This push instead of g5 wouldn't have given X3D Fritz time to
capture
on a2 because of the threat of h6.} Bxa2 $2 (31... h6) 32. h6) 31... Bxa2 $1
{
A surprise for Kasparov. Perhaps that pawn had sat there immune for so long
that Kasparov started to believe it couldn't be captured! Not only does
Black
win a pawn but suddenly White's king is feeling a draft.} 32. Rxe4 {Almost a
dr
aw offer since it is now very hard for White to find any move to avoid the
repetition that does indeed end the game.} (32. Rd2 {This move was expected
by
most commentators. It pushes the black queen off the d-file and claims it
for
White. Then Kasparov could continue his kingside push.} Qe8 33. h5) 32...
Qd3 {
Bringing the queen to a dominating position and creating threats around the
white king.} 33. Rd4 {
Giving up another pawn in order to remove the worst of the black threats.}
Qxe3+ {X3D Fritz alarmed the commentators by spending eight minutes on this
obvious and forced move. Seirawan, Ashley, and Hoffman wondered if there was
a
malfunction! Nothing of the sort. X3D Fritz had plenty of extra time, so it
was in no hurry. It had started to see the repetition draw that now comes
and
when a decisive result comes into its analysis horizon the program gives
itself more time.} 34. Rcd2 {The only move.} (34. Rdd2 $4 Rxb2 $1 {Whoops,
givi
ng up the queen but getting checkmate in return! A fine illustration of the
dangers around White's king.} 35. Qxe3 (35. Rxb2 Qxc5+) (35. Kxb2 Qb3+ 36.
Ka1
Qb1#) 35... Rb1# {Checkmate!}) (34. Kd1 $4 Re8) 34... Qe1+ {Black is in
considerable danger as well. Not only does Kasparov have a material
advantage,
but the black king is not safe.} 35. Rd1 {The only move. The open white
king,
hemmed in by the bishop on a2, is too vulnerable.} (35. Kc2 $4 Bb1+ 36. Kc3
Qc1+ 37. Rc2 Qxc2#) 35... Qe3+ {The first repetition of the position. If the
same position is about to appear on the board for the third time, the player
can claim a draw by repetition. We call theversion here a "perpetual
check."}
36. R1d2 {The other moves are suicidal. Kasparov has no choice but to accept
the perpetual check draw if X3D Fritz wants it.} (36. Kc2 $4 Qb3+ 37. Kd2
Qxb2+
) (36. R4d2 $4 Qxc5+) 36... Qg1+ {This was the last fork in the road. X3D
Fritz could have continued the game with ..Re8. The machine decides that
there
is no way to play for a win and forces the repetition draw.} (36... Re8 {
Black can keep the game going this way, but it was very risky and without
any
advantage.} 37. Qc3) (36... Qe8 $2 37. Rd7) 37. Rd1 {Now the draw is
completely frced because the black queen has no alternative to checking on
e3
again and creating a third repetition. Any other move loses immediately.
White
is threatening to win instantly with Rd8+. So going to g1 for check instead
of
back to e1 was just a show of computer humor, if you will! The result is the
same: draw. A rich and exciting battle with chances on both sides and
unexpected play from the beginning.} 1/2-1/2

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 c6 5. e3 a6 {Diverging from game one,
when
the more common 5...Nbd7 was played. This sideline of the Slav with 5...a6
was
criticized by Kasparov after the game. From the continuation here we can see
why. X3D Fritz is playing from its opening book right into a position it
doesn't understand at all! When Kasparov said this everyone looked over at
poor Alex Kure, the man responsible for selecting and "training" X3D Fritz's
openings. Kasparov has little practical experience with this sideline and in
both cases (once with white and once with black) the game continued with
6.b3.
When this move appeared on the screen I thought maybe the Fritz team
were
trying to give Kasparov a little psychological jab. He played this move
himself a month ago against Huzman in a game that turned into the shortest
loss of his career after a horrific blunder. They wouldn't admit it, but you
know they knew about that game and that Kasparov would be forced to think
about while he was sitting there against X3D Fritz.} 6. c5 Nbd7 7. b4 a5 8.
b5
e5 (8... Ne4 $2 9. Nxe4 dxe4 10. Nd2 f5 11. f3 Qh4+ $2 (11... exf3 12. Qxf3
$16
) 12. g3 Qh6 13. Qe2 {1-0 Euwe,M-Alekhine,A/NLD 1935/(41)}) (8... e5 $142)
9.
Qa4 $1 {Given an exclamation point by Gligoric and Wade in their book "The
World Chess Championship" (1972). This move was apparently not in X3D
Fritz's
opening book so it was now on its own.} Qc7 10. Ba3 (10. Be2 e4 11. Nd2 g6
12.
Nb3 Bh6 13. Bd2 O-O 14. O-O-O b6 15. bxc6 Nb8 16. cxb6 Qxb6 17. Qb5 Qxc6 18.
Qxc6 Nxc6 19. Na4 {1-0 Pachman,L-Fichtl,J/Prague 1954/MCD (41)}) 10... e4
11.
Nd2 Be7 {All of these moves had been played before, although Kasparov said
afterwards that he was not conscious of that at the time at this point. The
game they are following was not a minor one, but a battle from the world
championship match-tournament in 1948 between American Samuel Reshevsky and
Soviet (Estonian) Paul Keres.} 12. b6 {Immediately sealing the queenside and
diverging from that game from 1948, although there are still many
similarities.
A player as strong as Keres had no difficulty in seeing that Black needs
immediate pawn play on the kingside in order to compensate for White's
advantage on the kingside. He played a rapid ...h5 push and entered a very
sharp battle.} (12. Be2 h5 13. b6 Qd8 14. h3 Nf8 15. O-O-O Ne6 16. Ndxe4
Nxe4 (
16... dxe4 17. d5 Bxc5 (17... O-O 18. dxe6 Qe8) 18. dxc6 Bxa3+ 19. Kc2) 17.
Nxe4 h4 {0-1 Reshevsky,S-Keres,P/NLD/URS 1948/MainBase (63)} (17... dxe4 18.
d5
)) 12... Qd8 13. h3 {An odd little prophylactic move that shows that
Kasparov
is betting that X3D Fritz won't know what to do in this position without any
clear targets for its pieces. All the time Kasparov spent training with X3D
Fritz clearly paid off. 13.h3 doesn't develop anything but it takes away a
square from Black's knight, the g4 square.} O-O 14. Nb3 {Kasparov closes in
on
the isolated a5 pawn. After he captures it the white pieces will be a little
tied up and during that time Black needs to counterattack vigorously on the
kingside. Instead from now on we watch Kasparov consolidate on the queenside
while X3D Fritz does absolutely nothing on the kingside. It has no clue that
its only hope is to play its kingside pawns forward to break through the
white
pawn chain at its base.} Bd6 $6 {This got a good laugh from the Grandmaster
commentators and the audience. Only a computer! It puts its bishop right
where
the white pawn can capture it. If Kasparov takes the bishop he loses his
queen
after 15.cxd6?? Nxb6 and the white queen is trapped. Of course Kasparov
isn't going to blunder his queen away, so did this curious move have any
other
value? Maybe so, if Black thinks its bishop is more useful on the b8-h2
diagonal, attacking the kingside.} (14... Ne8 15. Rb1 f5 {Here is the key
move
that X3D Fritz never wanted to play. All of Black's hopes are pinned on
eventually breaking through with ..f5.} 16. g3 g5 {Necessary to enforce
....f4,
but X3D Fritz has been taught not to move the pawns in front of its king.
Now
a double-edge battle is underway and White will have to watch out for
Black's
breakthrough on the kingside. In the game, Kasparov never had to worry about
this at all since X3D Fritz never touched its f-pawn.}) 15. Rb1 {Kasparov
ignor
es X3D Fritz's provocative play and continues to develop his pieces. Black
isn't threatening anything.} (15. cxd6 $4 Nxb6) (15. Nxa5 Nxb6 16. cxb6 Bxa3
17. Qxa3 Qxb6) 15... Be7 $6 {Oh boy, now you know we're in the land of
computer chess. As one of America's top players, GM Gregory Kaidanov, put it
after the game, "this move showed that the computer doesn't feel any
embarrassment!" X3D Fritz puts its bishop right back where it was two moves
ago, basically making Kasparov a gift of two moves.} 16. Nxa5 Nb8 17. Bb4 {
Kasparov will slowly unravel his pieces on the queenside and prepare to push
his a2 pawn up the board where it will break through and give him a
protected
passed b-pawn with an easily winning position. X3D Fritz can't see this
coming
at all and does nothing but watch.} Qd7 18. Rb2 {This useless-looking move
confused most of the commentators, but to anyone with extensive
anti-computer
chess experience it makes perfect sense. The rook protects the f2 pawn, a
potential weak spot, but why would you protect something that isn't being
attacked? The reason goes into how computers think. It's brute force
calculation can only go so deep, even with four super-fast processors.
Black's
only possible source of counterplay in this position is to push its f-pawn
and
open up an attack against area around the white king, f2 in particular. If
X3D
Fritz's search, usually running 12-20 half-moves deep, ever reaches a
position
in which it sees success in such an attack it will put such a plan in
motion.
On the other hand, if it cannot reach a favorable position in its
searches
it will never play the initial moves required. With the rook on b2
protecting
f2 already, the potential weakness of that critical square is somewhat
hidden
from the computer's search. X3D Fritz can't just play it anyway like a human
would, knowing that everything else is useless. A machine has to receive
a
positive evaluation from its search to play a move and always plays the move
that gives it the best evaluation. Since X3D Fritz sees no danger here for
itself it is content to play moves that do nothing, but don't cause any
negative effect either. It twiddles its virtual reality thumbs. Any human
would say, "I have to do SOMETHING."} Qe6 19. Qd1 {Getting the queen out
from
behind the pin on the a5 knight. All of Kasparov's moves are based on
supporting the push of the extra a2 pawn, with the occasional need to
protect
against an X3D Fritz threat.} Nfd7 {After this there was a brief hope that
X3D
Fritz had found the need to play its f-pawn at long last.} 20. a3 Qh6 21.
Nb3
Bh4 {A pathetic one-move threat that ends up wasting more time. This move
pins
the f2 pawn against the king and so threatens ...Qxe3+ on the next move.}
22.
Qd2 {Protecting against that threat and preparing to evacuate the king to
the
queenside.} Nf6 {Nope, no f-pawn push. Black is doomed.} 23. Kd1 Be6 24. Kc1
{
Kasparov has all the time in the world.} Rd8 {Useless.} 25. Rc2 Nbd7 26. Kb2
Nf8 {Ironically, X3D Fritz was reaching incredible search depths because
there
are so few legal moves in this closed position. It was like casting a
powerful
searchlight into a black hole. Even reaching 19 half-moves ahead it couldn't
find the essential plan.} 27. a4 {The a-pawn begins its march.} Ng6 28. a5
Ne7
{After all this silliness it's too late for X3D Fritz to do anything now
even
if it realized it was in trouble. It's pieces are all on the other side of
the
board while Kasparov crashes through with his pawn.} 29. a6 {Kasparov gives
back the pawn temporarily in order to gain a protected passed b-pawn and
squares for his pieces. He will now build up his forces for the final
assault.}
bxa6 30. Na5 Rdb8 31. g3 {White gets ready to get his last piece into action
and further restrain the useless black pieces.} Bg5 32. Bg2 {Getting out of
the way of the rook while threatening to win a piece with h4, trapping the
bishop.} (32. h4 $6 Ng4 33. Bg2 Bf6) 32... Qg6 33. Ka1 Kh8 {Two
useless-looking
king moves that aren't the same at all. Kasparov is getting out of the way
of
his heavy pieces. X3D Fritz is simply wasting more time. At this point the
X3D
Fritz team members started to shuffle their feet nervously. They knew from
looking at the evaluation that the program had no idea it was about to be
crushed.} 34. Na2 {Heading to the b4 square.} Bd7 35. Bc3 Ne8 36. Nb4 Kg8
37.
Rb1 Bc8 38. Ra2 Bh6 39. Bf1 {Kasparov has optimized his forces for the final
strike. During the last 20 moves X3D Fritz has accomplished absolutely
nothing.
} Qe6 40. Qd1 {With this move Kasparov's last worry disappeared. He had
reached the time control on move 40, which meant he had an extra hour added
to
his clock. They would get even more time at move 60, but nobody believed the
game would reach that point!} Nf6 {There is nothing to be done at this
point,
although X3D Fritz was still giving White just a tiny plus.} 41. Qa4 Bb7
(41...
Kh8 {Waiting passively doesn't work either.} 42. Nbxc6 Bd7 {This pin
backfires.
} 43. b7 $1 Ra7 (43... Nxc6 44. bxa8=Q Rxa8 45. Rb6 Nxa5 46. Rxe6 Bxa4 47.
Rxa6
Rxa6 48. Bxa6 Nb3+ 49. Kb2) 44. Nxb8 Bxa4 45. Rxa4 {
White wins easily even without his queen thanks to the mighty pawns.}) 42.
Nxb7
Rxb7 43. Nxa6 (43. Bxa6 Rbb8 44. b7 (44. Rb3 Qxh3) 44... Rxb7 45. Bxb7 Rxa4
46.
Rxa4 g6 47. Ra6) 43... Qd7 44. Qc2 {For the second time in this game the
queen
steps out of a pin on the a-file. Now it's a simple matter of dominating the
a-file, trading pieces, and pushing the b-pawn. Totally crushing.} Kh8 {
X3D Fritz was still managing to find enough defensive resources in its
search
to delay the inevitable. It's evaluation was only -1.50, or a pawn and a
half
negative when in fact it is completely losing. The final cataclysm is beyond
its search horizon, just like the rest of the game.} 45. Rb3 {The rooks will
double on the a-file, penetrate to a7 or a8, force exchanges, and finally
the
push of the b-pawn will be unstoppable.} (45. Rb3 Ne8 (45... Qc8 46. Rba3 g6
47. Nc7 Rxa3 48. Rxa3 Rb8 49. Qa2) (45... Qf5 46. Nc7 Rxa2+ 47. Qxa2 Nd7 48.
Qa7 (48. Be2)) 46. Rba3 Nc8 47. Nb4 Rab8 48. Ra8 Bg5 49. Rxb8 Rxb8 50. Ra6
Bd8
51. Qa4 Ne7 52. Ra8 Rxa8 53. Qxa8) 1-0